


Birthday Blues

by Draikinator



Category: My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: F/F, Post Movie, Tempest doesnt remember how to break out into choreographed song and dance, blank flank tempest, eatablished relationship, mentions of applejacks folks, shes self conscious, third person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 12:16:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12630891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draikinator/pseuds/Draikinator
Summary: Twilight Sparkle and Tempest Shadow visit the Cakes for Pinkie's birthday! Tempest still isn't used to being a protagonist.





	Birthday Blues

**Author's Note:**

> shout out to chrome for the inspiration!!

Tempest scuffed her hooves anxiously against the floor. It was weird not to be wearing armour. It was super weird not to be wearing metal boots anymore. She hadn’t trotted barefoot since she was a teenager, but she didn’t want to be imposing. It was a big day. Try to blend in. Look like a proper pony. Commune with her culture!

Oh god, what if they broke out into song? She could do a killer solo, but she couldn’t remember how everyone empathically coordinated during a spontaneous musical number. What if someone started singing and expected her to jump in and she couldn’t think of a line in time?

“Twilight, I, um, I’m suddenly not so sure about this-” she said, swishing her tail against her hind legs, embarrassed. Way too embarrassed to go out without a saddle blanket that covered her flank and a hat that covered her horn, maybe too embarrassed to go out at all.

“Come on, Tempest, it’ll be great! If you really don’t want to, you don’t have to, but I think you want to.” Twilight smiled, eyes bright and full of hope. It made her stomach do backflips around butterflies.

“Well-” she stammered, then flared her nostrils. This was ridiculous. She was a former commander of an army, a general, an admiral, a highly trained combat master and a force to be reckoned with. She had no business being sheepish. “Okay. We’re doing this. I’m doing this. Come on. Let’s do this.”

“Let’s do this,” Twilight repeated, and pushed open the door to the Cake’s shop.

“Fizzlepop Berrytwist!” Pinkie Pie slammed into her like a cannonball and she tumbled backward with an “Oomph.”

“Oh!!” Tempest said, kicking her legs against the air like a turtle, “Happy birthday, Pinkie! You startled me!”

“Thanks, Fizzlepop! Hi, Twilight!!” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing like a rubber ball, “I’m so happy to see you!”

“I, um,” Tempest said, rolling over and shaking the dirt out of her mane, “I don’t know if I’m ready to go by Fizzlepop again, actually.”

“Gotcha, Tempest!” Pinkie Pie said, booping Tempest with her snoot playfully, “Come on! The party’s already started!”

“Okay!” Tempest said, feeling a little more confident. She looked back at Twilight, who bumped into her side reassuringly, nuzzling Tempest’s cheek with her muzzle.

She lost her confidence when she stepped through the threshold of the business and saw the crowd inside. Everyone was so… colourful, like a technicolour moosh of confetti and rainbow horses. She felt so visible with her dark purple coat and muscle-bound stature. Everyone else was soft and round, whereas the same features on her were taught and hard and sharp. No one seemed alarmed by her entrance, but somehow that felt worse. She ducked her head a bit and trotted inside beside Twilight, placing their gifts on the present table with the others.

Pinkie Pie looked back at her and made a face like she was trying to riddle something out, mouth cocked to the side, eyes squinted, ears laid flat, before they swiveled straight up and she bounced on her heels and trotted over to whisper in her ear.

“Psst! I promise it won’t hurt my feelings if you duck out early! I’m just happy you came!” she said softly, then waved and giggled and said more loudly, “You two have fun! I’m gonna go eat some more horse discourse!”

“They’re called “hor'dourves,” Pinkie Pie!” Twilight called, then sighed when it didn't seem like Pinkie had heard as she galloped back over to her hippogryph girlfriend, “How are you doing?”

“I’m just fine!” Tempest said, trying to appear nonchalant, “It’s all good. Let’s mingle, huh?”

Twilight smiled and gave her a soft kiss on the nose affectionately, “Come on, let me introduce you to some of my other friends.”

Tempest really was fine until the cake came out and everyone broke into song and her worst fears were realized: she really had forgotten how to break into song with a crowd. She quietly excused herself during Skystar’s solo about what an amazing girlfriend Pinkie Pie was.

She pushed the tip of her hoof around in the dirt, drawing the vague outline of fireworks and wondering if that was what her cutie would have looked like if had ever appeared.

“Aw, shucks,” said a voice behind her, “You seem a bit put out. Everything okay, sugar?”

Tempest turned around, and Applejack sat down beside her on the steps.

“Oh,” Tempest said, mashing down her drawing with her hoof, “Yeah. It’s just… weird, being in Ponyville.”

“Tell me about it,” Applejack laughed, “I ain’t one for citylife; you should see me whenever Twilight or Rarity drag my flank out to Manehatten or Canterlot.”

Tempest laughed, “I can imagine. You seem like the type.”

“Yeah, and you seem like the type that ain’t much for parties and singin’ and all that.”

“Well, I don’t dislike it,” she relents, “It’s just been awhile, and I’m not used to trying to- keep my guard down, I guess.”

“It must have been hard on your own,” Applejack comments, flicking her ear, “I lost my folks when I was just a filly, an’ I thought I had it hard.”

“I’m sure you did!” Tempest said, hurriedly, “I don’t want to discount your experiences!”

Applejack snorted and punched her playfully in the shoulder. Applejack wasn’t totally like all the other ponies, either- she wasn’t scarred up, like Tempest was, but she was a little harder, a little sharper, a little stronger than her peers. It was noticeable, “Nah, it don’t bother me none. I’m just sayin’. I had my whole extended family to help me out. It musta been hard havin’, well, no one.”

“...Yeah, it was,” Tempest said, and was surprised by the relief she felt to admit it.

“You wanna go back in? You don’t gotta or nothin’, but Twilight was lookin’ for ya. I figured you’d be outside.”

“Oh!” Tempest said, scrambling to her feet, “I thought she saw me leave.

“Come on, Pinkie pie blew up her cake, but Mrs. Cake always has a backup for when she does that. I bet you’re a real fan of funfetti.”

Tempest smiled, despite herself, “Yeah, actually. Let’s go back in.”


End file.
